Defender of Men
by inkhands96
Summary: *Sequel to The Mosetti Job* The team is back at it again, a job from their past leading them straight into a new job saving a bunch of Italian orphans from corrupt caretakers, as well as straight into the arms of Alessandra Mosetti.
1. The Job

"When are we going to get some time off?" Eliot snapped, Nate sighing. He knew that the team had been over-worked, lately, but ever since he let the wrong case slide by a while ago he wasn't taking any chances.

He couldn't take any chances.

"Soon," Nate nodded, the hitter rolling his eyes.

"Run it Hardison," Parker chirped, bouncing down from the rafters.

"That's my line," Nate sighed, Sophie laughing.

"Alright, so there is an orphanage that is funded by an absolutely horrible family. They have been taking money from other orphanages and the government, saying that they can care for the children when they are really funneling the money away so they can buy counterfeit art and sell it for high prices, using that money for themselves. The children are not being cared for and are being placed in bad homes simply to get them out of the family's care. There are many volunteers working with the kids, and one of them brought the problem to our attention. She at first thought that the orphanage was truly struggling, but then she got a hold of some of the financial ledgers and figured out what was really going on. That's when she contacted us."

"Who is this girl, and where is this so called orphanage, and what is the plan?" Eliot growled, his patients being so much less than it was before the Mosetti job almost five months prior. The rest of the team had been different, too, but not like Eliot. He had changed the most, and it was the most apparent out of all of the members.

"We are going to Italy," Nate said, Sophie, Parker, and Hardison smiling, as if they already knew. "Now, let's go steal us an orphanage."


	2. The Reunion

It had been five months since Eliot had seen those eyes. Since they were filled with sadness and tears and yet a bit of hope. Five months since he had held her in his arms, five months since he had heard her laugh, and five months since she had sat in Nate's living room, playing Hardison's stupid video games, picking locks with Parker, playing chess with Nate, online shopping with Sophie, and cooking with him. Five months since he had been too stubborn to say goodbye, and five months since he was too stubborn to say hello, again.

And yet, here she was.

The team had arrived in Italy, checking into their hotel and going off to find the orphanage where Ale was spending a large chunk of her time.

The building was extremely run down, and kids were running all around the yard, playing with a beaten soccer ball and some rope acting as jump ropes.

Sophie immediately recognized Emilio and Julio, two of Ale's friends whom they met when they first came to Italy a few months ago, playing with the kids. They smiled at the team, waving when they recognized the team who helped rescue Ale.

The team then found their way into the building, the inside just as beaten as the out. One long hallway led to a common room, tables and a few toys scattered around. There was a small kitchen in the corner, the appliances looking like they barely worked. Down another hallway were a few large rooms, each of them stacked with bare bunks. One room was filled with cribs, and one other filled with mattresses thrown on the floor.

It was that room where the team found Alessandra, kneeling down next to a crying child. Ale was running a wash cloth over the girl's face, talking to her soothingly. Soon, the girl was asleep and Ale was moving onto the child on the next mattress. When she had finished visiting every child on every mattress Ale moved into one of the other rooms, all of the children in there running to her.

Ale laughed, the spark in her green eyes shining even from across the room. Her long, dark hair was braided down her back, making her look a bit younger than she was. She looked thinner than the last time the team had saw her, and she looked tired, but the sadness from her eyes was gone.

Ale gathered the girls in the room into a semi-circle, pulling out a large pad of paper. Slowly, she taught them about the letter c. After Ale finished her lesson the girls begged her to sing and do their hair, so Ale sat for an hour and a half, singing with the children and braiding all of their hair.

The team watched as Ale talked and laughed and sang with the girls, making sure to tell each one of them that they were beautiful as she gave them a hug and kiss after she finished their hair. Some of the children were loud and laughing, others quiet and keeping to themselves. They all lit up when they saw Ale, though, and were happy as they sat in front of her.

Once Ale finished with the girls she zipped out of the room, going into the front yard and jumping into the soccer game the boys were playing. They all cheered when she joined the game, Emilio and Julio smiling also.

Sophie couldn't help but notice how Emilio looked at Ale out of the corner of his eye, smiling as she played with the boys. It was a look of love, and more than the brotherly sort that the rest of Ale's friends looked at her with.

When Ale checked her watch she immediately said something to the boys in Italian, all of them running into the house. Emilio and Julio putting their arms around Ale as they walked into the building.

The team followed the children back into the orphanage, watching as all of the children washed their hands, set their spots at a table, and waited for Ale, Emilio, and Julio to serve them food. As they waited the kids all sang nursery rhymes, their voices blending in with Ale's as she led them. In a matter of twenty minutes, the kids all had sandwiches and soup in front of them.

"Ale do you want help with the babies?" Emilio asked, Ale sighing.

"That would be lovely. Julio, can you handle them?" Ale laughed, Julio taking a huge bite of a sandwich as he sat down at a table with some very adoring fans.

"I got it," he nodded, Ale and Emilio walking down the hallway. In the next ten minutes, four babies and five toddlers had joined the dining room, Emilio and Ale feeding them. When Emilio had finished with his set of babies, he grabbed some lunch for himself. Instead of eating, Ale helped the toddlers with their food, cutting up some fruit for them and feeding them their soup.

As the other children finished they all came to Ale, talking with her as she fed the younger kids, asking her questions about just about anything. Once the toddlers had finished eating they started climbing all over Ale, her laughing and handling all five them with ease.

_Ale was lifting up one of the boys, Michael, when she noticed someone standing in the door. She put Michael down, overcome with happiness at the sight of the five people who stood in the entrance of the kitchen._

_She had kept in constant contact with Parker, seeing her whenever the team had the smallest of breaks. Hardison talked to her a lot, as well, keeping her up to date with the team and their jobs. Sophie had called many times, always talking about new clothes that she got and asking how Ale was doing. Nate had even called a few times, checking on her and asking how she was._

_Her answers were always the same, and Ale tried so hard to ensure that she kept the attention on the team. It was easier than trying to open up about her life…she knew the team was just being nice and that she couldn't get too comfortable with them. She longed to be a part of their little family, but it wasn't quite fair to her family who was now gone to just move on and forget them._

_Parker had become a good friend of hers, though, and she loved her like the little sister she never had. Then again, at times, Parker seemed like the older sister Ale had always wanted._

_Eliot, however, had never contacted Ale. He left without saying goodbye, and he made sure to never say hello again. _

_Nevertheless, he was here with the team to help the kids she had grown to love so dearly, his eyes the same caring, endless pools that first saved Ale from drowning in the biggest of oceans._


	3. Ben

"_You came," Ale smiled, the surprise evident in her voice._

"_I wasn't going to ignore you twice," Nate smiled. Ale walked over to the team, Hardison being the first one to pull her into a hug. Sophie was next, followed by Nate and Parker._

"_Hey, Eliot," Ale said quietly, the smile hesitant on her lips._

"_Hey," he nodded back. _

When Ale had spoken to him, Eliot's heart opened all over again. His anger was gone for that few seconds where her eyes were meeting his.

"You remember Emilio and Julio, right?" Ale asked, the two boys coming to stand with Ale. Emilio wrapped his arm around Ale's waist, feeling a bit intimidated by Eliot for some reason.

"We do. It's a pleasure to see you again," Sophie answered, her suspicions about Emilio liking Ale confirmed. "It's quite the place you've got here, Ale. You seem to have your hands full."

"Well, the owners are too cheap to pay for workers so we run on volunteers…and many of them left once the sickness hit," Ale shrugged.

"The sickness?" Hardison asked.

"It's your basic cold and flu. The volunteers didn't have enough energy to care for the sick kids and the healthy ones, so they just bolted. The boys and I take shifts and there are a few village women who are here a lot," Ale shrugged. "It's nothing that can kill you, Hardison, so wipe the scared look off your face," she laughed.

"Correction, the boys take shifts. You are here constantly," Emilio sighed, the worry evident in his voice.

"It's fine. So, what's the plan?" Ale asked, looking at the team.

"Is there somewhere private we could talk about this?" Nate asked, looking at Ale. She nodded, looking at Emilio and Julio.

"Will you two be alright? The kids need to wash up and clean plates."

"We got it, mi amore," Emilio smiled, planting a soft kiss on Ale's cheek. On their way down the hallway the team heard a child crying, Ale immediately freezing. Seconds later Julio was rushing down the hall towards Ale.

"Ben is saying his belly hurts but won't go with me or Emilio," he said quickly. The team watched as Ale rushed back to the main room, coming back seconds later with a screaming child in her arms. He was one of the toddlers who had been at the table with the rest of the children.

Nate had remembered the boy…he had been quiet and kept to himself, only talking to Ale.

As Ale led the team to an empty room she held the boy, bouncing him as she walked. The room Ale had led them to had a small card table, chairs pulled around it.

"Welcome to the orphanage break room. Where all your dreams come true," Ale joked, obviously tired with the whole situation. The team waited as Ale calmed the boy, speaking soothing words to him in Italian. Eventually, the boy quieted, snuggling into Ale's chest, watching the room with his big brown eyes. Ale stayed standing in the back of the room, slowly rocking the boy back and forth.

Sophie couldn't imagine holding the boy for as long as Ale did…he was a toddler, yes, but his limbs were heavy with drowsiness and he was, no doubt, getting heavy.

"Sorry about the screaming. Benvollio, here, will only go with the women helpers. He was abused in his first home by his father. He should be in a better home where he can get help. Instead, the owners of this place bought him from an orphanage saying he was going to get prime help and instead stuck poor Ben here, of all places," Ale explained, the anger in her voice apparent, as was the sadness.

"Well I am glad we got here when we did," Nate nodded.

He took in Ale's appearance. She looked exhausted, the color drained from her face. She had lost weight, and her usual glow was gone. When she had called asking for his help, she sounded like she was at the end of her rope. She had started working at the orphanage almost as soon as the team left her, growing more and more attached as time wore on.

Eliot also noticed the differences in Ale and couldn't help but worry about her. She looked overworked, and he was sure it was because she cared so much for the children. She had found someone she could help, and she was doing so religiously without any consideration for her own health.

_Ale wavered where she stood, closing her eyes slightly. _

_She was so tired, and anything that she had to do seemed to take so much of her energy. The children needed her, though, and she did not have time to slack off. At least not until the team could fix everything. She was so glad that they had come…Ale didn't know how much longer she could work like she had been—nonstop, with no rest—until they finally got there._

"_Why don't you sit down?" Sophie's voice said quietly, snapping Ale back to attention. Ale looked down at Ben, his eyes closed and his thumb in his mouth. Ale nodded weakly, realizing that the only chair left in the room was next to Eliot. The room was small and everyone had to sit close—and she would have to sit close to Eliot. _

_He pulled the chair out from the table for her, Ale sitting carefully, as not to wake Ben. He was such a light sleeper, often woken by nightmares. _

_That is why he and Ale had gotten along so well._

"_You alright?" Eliot grumbled, Ale looking at him with surprise. He hadn't said one word to her in so long, and now he was asking if he was okay. His eyes were sincere, just like they were when she first woke up in Nate's living room._

"_I'm fine," Ale nodded, turning her attention to Nate at the front of the room._

_As Nate explained how they were going to buy the orphanage from the current family who ran it, reveal the secrets about the orphanage, and help get the kids in a safer environment. Nate would go in as a green finance advisor, Sophie as a wicked wife of the finance advisor who wants the children to herself to use as laborers, and Eliot and Hardison as new volunteers that work both in the orphanage and in the offices (in order to steal all of the information they need). Parker would stay in the shadows in case the team needed a fresh face at some point in the con. It was an easy job that shouldn't take too long to carry out._

_In the meantime, Ale still had kids who needed her care, no matter what the personal cost._


	4. Tickle Monster

"I'm concerned about Ale," Emilio said, walking into the break room. Ale had left to go put Ben down for the nap and the team was still working on the plan.

"Have a seat," Sophie smiled, grimacing when she realized he would have to sit next to Eliot. Eliot had feelings for Ale—that was irrefutable. Emilio did, as well. The difference between the two, though, was that Emilio actually shared these feelings and Eliot pushed them down so deep that he lost all other feelings, as well.

"She has been working here nonstop since about two weeks after you left. She took time to mourn, in her own way, but then she immediately jumped into this orphanage. Don't get me wrong, I volunteer here a lot, too, and so do the rest of the boys. Ale, though, never quits. She only gets a few hours of sleep a night, and when she is here she goes a mile a minute, playing with the kids and catering their every need. We do the same, but we go to Ale whenever there is a problem we can't quite solve. The kids love her, and she loves them. But they need so much attention, and Ale gives it to them, which is great, but this job is work for at least five constant workers who have the skills and personality of Ale. We are helpful, sure, but we aren't like her. She just has this way with them. And now there are more kids, and some of them are getting sick, and there is hardly any funding, and she is wearing herself down. She wasn't seeing it at first, but now it's evident."

"It will all be fixed soon," Sophie said, smiling at Emilio to ease his worries. "And we can convince her to take some time off in order to help us, so long as you can make a new schedule of workers. I'm sure she won't leave it she doesn't think that her shifts can be handled."

"I already have it all figured out. Thank you so much for coming here. I knew she would listen to you guys, so when she said she wanted to call you I all but dialed the phone," Emilio smiled, the entire room laughing.

Except for Eliot…he didn't laugh. He was a little annoyed that Emilio hadn't figured out a way to help Ale sooner if he saw her wearing down.

"You truly care for her, don't you?" Nate asked.

"I do," Emilio nodded, a bit of sadness behind his eyes. Ale appeared back in the room, vomit all over her shirt.

"Emilio, could you come help me in the boys bunks? I need you to either clean up Xavier or the floor. Julio is starting reading time."

Emilio immediately stood, going to help Ale.

"I can help him if you want to change," Eliot offered, standing.

"That would actually be really nice," Ale sighed, going somewhere else in the orphanage.

Eliot followed Emilio out of the room, watching as he took the small boy from his bed to clean him up.

"I want Ale," the boy whimpered.

"I know buddy. She will be here soon," he promised, looking at Eliot.

"Try rubbing his back," Eliot instructed, cleaning up the vomit on the floor. Ten minutes later the boy was asleep and the room was clean, Eliot fixing up some of the loose springs on the bottoms of the bunks in the room. Ale found her way back into the room, looking at Emilio and Eliot as they both worked around the room.

"Better?" Emilio asked, smiling at Ale. She nodded meekly, sitting down on the bed next to Xavier. She ran her hand along his back, looking at the boys.

"Do you think he has the flu?" Emilio asked, picking up some stray toys on the ground. Eliot listened to the two talk, fixing a loose screw in the window.

"No. Raph dared him to eat dirt and he didn't like the taste," Ale laughed, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"Well that will do it," Emilio nodded. "I'm going to help Julio with reading time."

Emilio left, planning a kiss on Ale's head. Eliot scoffed, continuing to fix the odds and ends of the room. While he did so, Xavier woke up, asking Ale to lay with him. She laughed, laying down on the bed. The little boy curled up in her side as Ale rubbed his back.

_Ale didn't always have time to spend time with each and every kid in the orphanage every day, but when she could have little quiet moments with each of them, she knew that she was doing the right thing. She loved them, with all of her heart. _

"_Ale?" the little boy asked, Ale humming in response. "I shouldn't have eaten the dirt."_

"_No. You shouldn't have," Ale laughed._

"_Are you mad because I threw up on you?" _

"_No, buddy. I could never be mad at you for being sick. No one should ever be mad at anyone for being sick."_

"_How come you are so nice?" the little boy asked, Ale smiling. _

"_I'm actually super mean. Like the wicked witch of the west," Ale said, the little boy giggling._

"_No you're not."_

"_Am too. At night when no one is watching I turn green and grow warts and howl at the moon and make potions."_

"_No you do not!" the little boy giggled again, sounding a hundred percent better than he did when he first threw up._

"_I do. Do you know my name when I become mean and nasty?" Ale asked, Xavier shaking his head. "The tickle monster," she yelled, tickling the boy that laid next to her. _

_The boy was laughing like crazy, warming Ale's heart. _

Eliot was amazed at Ale's ability to connect to the children, even when she was so tired and run down. When Eliot was tired, he didn't want to talk to anyone, especially some kid stupid enough to eat dirt.

That was the amazing thing about Ale, though. She had a heart that was constantly open…and a heart that opened Eliot's anytime they met.


	5. Darkness

_Ale hadn't been a part of the job yet in an upfront way, but she had been given a com and had answered a lot of questions about the owners and intervened when necessary with important information. She was proving that she knew a lot more about the orphanage than how to make the sink in the kitchen stop leaking and how to make the kids eat their vegetables._

_Since the team had been there there seemed to be more workers at the orphanage, the boys all coming in more and the village women making appearances much more often. Ale continued to work, though, figuring that you could never have too many pairs of hands._

_Currently, Ale was sitting in the nursery, rocking a colicky baby to sleep. The job was almost done and Ale knew she wouldn't need to be so hands on with the kids once everything was fixed. Many of them were going to get adopted and new workers were going to come in…workers that actually knew what they were doing. Sure, Ale was good enough for the kids now, but she knew they would be far better off with professionals._

_Ale was the only one at work, sending everyone else home. The women she worked with were grateful, as they had been there all day working with Ale and Hardison. Hardison was called away on the job by dinner, and by the look in his eyes Ale knew he was grateful he would get a small break._

_Now sitting with the babies and toddlers, Ale realized how tired she was. There was also a pounding in her head and a weakness in her bones that she couldn't shake. It had been growing progressively worse all day, but she had been able to ignore it until complete silence fell over the orphanage._

_At least, it was complete silence until Ale heard a creak in the hallway. She knew it wasn't one of the kids, as they had soft, light steps that didn't make sound in the hallway. Ale put the baby she was holding into the crib, grabbing a stray baseball bat from the toy closet in the nursery. She had never agreed with the older kids storing their toys in the nursery, but in that moment, she was grateful._

_Ale held the bat up, ready to swing, as she stepped into the hallway._

Eliot was not expecting Ale to have a baseball bat in her hands when he first saw her. By the look on Ale's face, she wasn't expecting to see Eliot's face when she rounded the corner.

"What are you doing here? You aren't on the schedule to work," Ale whispered, putting the bat down. Eliot followed her down the hallway into the kitchen, watching as she seamlessly made tea in the small, run down space.

"Neither are you," Eliot grumbled, taking in Ale's appearance. She looked even worse than she had when they first arrived, her skin even more pale and her hands shaking.

"Well I set the others home. They had a long day," Ale shrugged.

"And so did you," Eliot argued. Ale took the tea kettle off the stove just before it was supposed to scream, probably so that it wouldn't wake the children.

"Yeah but that's different," she shrugged, pouring a glass of tea, fixing it just the way Eliot liked. Ale handed the cup to Eliot, wavering a bit where she stood.

"You alright, darlin'?" Eliot asked, Ale nodding weakly. They both heard one of the kids call for Ale so she started walking towards the hallway, Eliot watching her every move.

Even though he was watching her, Eliot still couldn't catch her as she fell to the ground when she passed out.


	6. Trying to Forget

_Darkness was all Ale saw as someone scooped her up in his arms, simultaneously talking to someone on the phone. Ale was trying to understand what they were saying, but it took too much work and energy. Instead, she let the man carry her in his arms._

_As Ale continued to be carried, she realized that she knew the arms that held her…it was Eliot. She hadn't been carried in his arms for so long, and it felt good to be sheltered. She was tired, though, and the pounding in her head and bones had worsened since before she had passed out._

_The com in her ear was also going crazy, Sophie, Nate, Hardison, and Parker's voices all talking rapidly._

_Ale allowed the sound of her family to surround her as she slipped back to sleep._

Eliot was angry with himself for not making Ale take a break sooner. He was mad at Emilio for waiting so long before he stopped her, and Eliot had done the same thing, simply because he was too afraid to talk to Ale.

All the rest of the team had heard was Eliot ask Ale if she was alright and then a thud and Eliot cursing. They heard him on the phone calling Emilio and the rest of the boys, telling them to get to the orphanage as soon as possible, and then they heard nothing.

They had all asked Eliot to tell them what was happening, but he was too preoccupied with Ale to even think about responding to the team.

When Emilio and the other boys showed up Eliot simply told them to watch the kids and to call him if they needed anything before he carried Ale to the car he had taken to the orphanage.

"Eliot, please tell us what's going on," Sophie said softly, the rest of the team listening carefully.

"Ale passed out. Something's wrong with her," he growled, Hardison confused. Eliot had a great sense for people and their health. He could always tell when even the smallest thing was wrong with someone, and he was shocked that he hadn't known Ale was going to pass out before she did.

Nate knew, however, why Eliot wasn't paying attention to how Ale was feeling—he had been too busy suppressing how _he_ felt.

"Where are you taking her?" Sophie asked.

"To the hotel. Where else would I take her?" Eliot snapped, immediately regretting it. He knew Sophie was just worried, and he shouldn't have snapped at her.

"I don't know. Maybe her house. To her boyfriend," Hardison snapped back, a little upset with the way Eliot had been acting lately.

"He's not her boyfriend," Eliot grumbled, turning into the hotel.

"I think he is, man. He has called her phone five times since you carried her out of that orphanage."

"You tapped her phone?" Sophie asked, appalled.

"Yes. I did. I needed to know some things about the mark and part of that was watching his employees and how they interact," Hardison shrugged.

Little did the team know that Ale had asked Hardison to tap her phone. She had been getting a few random calls about twice a month, always from the same number. She knew it was probably nothing, but she wanted to be able to put her mind at ease.

Eliot eventually arrived at the hotel, Ale still unconscious in the back of the car. He lifted her out of the seat, surprised at how familiar her body felt in his arms. She was thinner than she was five months ago, but her head still rested on the same place on his chest, and her hair still smelled of vanilla and strawberries.

Parker, who was watching out the window for Eliot, flew down the lobby the minute he got to the hotel.

"Is she going to die?" she asked, tears in her eyes. Eliot sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't be stupid, Parker. She's not going to die."

"Eliot, you better change your attitude. We have had enough of it. Parker is showing concern for her friend. She and Ale have been in constant contact for the past five months and Parker has helped her at the orphanage any time the team had a vacation. We all have been talking with Ale, in fact, except you. So don't act like you are carrying around this huge chip on your shoulders…we all care about Ale. The difference is she actually knows we care," Sophie snapped, sick of Eliot's bad attitude. She could handle him snapping at her or Nate, and even Hardison. But when Parker was actually showing compassion and worry, two things she was usually lacking, she didn't need Eliot yelling at her.

It wasn't right.

Eliot was shocked at Sophie's words—he had no clue that Parker had talked to Ale so much. In fact, he didn't know any of the team had kept in contact with her. He thought that they were all trying to forget her just as much as he was. It was easier to forget than it was to admit how much she affected them.

He was the only one, apparently, who had wanted to forget.


	7. Apologies

Ale had been asleep for a long time. Parker was getting worried that she was never going to wake up.

"Mama, I don't think you need to stare at her. She will wake up when her body is ready," Hardison said, Parker sighing. She was currently perched on the couch Ale was laying on, hovering over her.

"Yes, Parker, she will be fine," Sophie assured her, shooing her away.

"You know, she hid it a lot better when I would visit," Parker said quietly. She felt guilty that she couldn't have helped Ale sooner. The team knew it wasn't Parkers fault, though.

"Ale doesn't like to be a burden. That's why she waited so long to call and why she didn't come back to the states," Nate explained, the entire room nodding.

The team was currently sitting in their hotel suite, Ale laying amongst them so they could see her when she woke up. Eliot had left almost as soon as he placed Ale on the counter, going to the store to get supplies to care for Ale, as well as to cool off a bit.

_When Ale opened her eyes she was in a room she didn't recognize, the pounding in her head a little better than when she had first fallen asleep._

"_You're awake," Parker said plainly, reminding Ale of the first time she woke up, fully, when the Leverage team had first saved her._

"_Yes, I am. Where are we?" Ale asked, sitting up carefully._

"_The hotel. Eliot brought you here," Parker shrugged, sitting down on the floor._

"_Are you feeling better?" Sophie asked, Ale smiling and nodding. "You have got to take care of yourself, Ale," Sophie said softly, Ale looking guilty._

"_I know. I just…it was so much easier to focus on them," Ale shrugged, Sophie and Nate nodding._

"_You should have something to eat," Nate suggested, Ale sighing._

"_Do you think I could go back to sleep for just a little while longer?" she asked, Nate smiling. _

"_Of course. You can use Parker's bedroom. Lord knows she never sleeps in the bed," Nate said._

_Hardison stood, helping Ale to Parker's room. Once Hardison left her in there she tucked herself into the bed, allowing herself to fall deep into sleep, knowing that the Leverage team had everything under control._

"She's awake?" Eliot asked, putting the supplies he had gotten in the small kitchen the room held.

"Was awake," Parker corrected. She was the only team member who would talk to him, with good reason, of course. "She is in my room sleeping."

"Thanks, Parker," Eliot sighed, heading into the room the thief had chosen when they first arrived.

Ale wasn't in Parker's bed when Eliot pushed through the door. He heard noises coming from the bathroom, though, so he waited until Ale was done.

When she found her way out of the room she was in one of Sophie's tunics, it being long enough on the short girl to be a dress. Ale's hair was falling around her face, darkened by the water from the shower she just took.

Eliot couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked.

"Hey, Eliot," Ale smiled, looking surprised.

"I was coming to check on you. I have some food and medicine you should take. I think you caught the cold the kids have been having. And I can't recall the last time you ate, so it would be good to get some food in your system," Eliot said in one breath.

"Thanks," Ale nodded.

Eliot quietly cursed himself…he had ruined any relationship with Ale—romantic or friend—when he decided to be a jerk.

"I'm sorry," Eliot grumbled, Ale snapping her head in his direction. "I am not good at letting people in, and you had a big impact on the team…it was hard to accept that. I don't make friends. I don't leave roots anywhere. It's the way I have always been. The team is the first group of people that I have let in in a long time. You seemed like a part of them already, and that scared me. I'm sorry that I didn't say goodbye to you and that I haven't been very nice."

_Ale couldn't believe her ears. Eliot Spencer was not only apologizing, but he was revealing things about him to Ale. She knew he was a gruff individual, and she knew she shouldn't have been hurt by his attitude—but something about his slight rejection hurt her feelings. He was the person she had grown closest to after Lio died, and he was pushing her away._

"_I understand," Ale smiled, feeling as if Eliot was still holding back. "Is that all?"_

_Eliot opened his mouth to speak again, but then he shut it and nodded. He offered Ale his arm, Ale immediately slipping hers into his. They walked into the main room of the suite, Ale sitting down on the sofa next to Parker, who was intently watching Hardison play a video game._

"_Feeling better?" Hardison asked, glancing at Ale. _

"_Much. Thank you," she smiled._

_Eliot brought over a bowl of homemade mac and cheese for Ale, as well as a few pills. _

"_Eat first, then take the medicine," he said, Ale nodding. The four of them sat quietly in the living room, watching as Hardison played his game._

When Nate and Sophie found their way back to the hotel room they were surprised to see the four younger parts of the team sitting together in the living room. Sophie smiled at Ale, the tunic she left for her to wear looking adorable on her small frame.

Nate could feel that the tension in the room was significantly smaller than when he and Sophie had left, and he was very glad.

"So, how are you feeling?" Sophie cooed, going over to plant a kiss on Ale's head.

"Much, much better. I should get back to the kids, though," Ale answered, the team smiling.

"That's fine. But you should know that there have been some changes at the orphanage," Nate said, Ale looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"First of all, the owners are in jail. Second of all, many of the kids have found loving homes and are packing up their things so they can leave tomorrow. And third of all, a new building will be built within a year, and a new staff of workers is there right now. In the next year, the Cecillio Home for Orphaned Children will be the biggest and best orphanage around with the best caregivers money can buy. A new system has been put up to help the kids get adopted and new clothes and toys are being delivered this afternoon," Nate explained, Ale looking stricken.

_Ale knew that the team would come through for her…she just couldn't believe they had come through for the kids in such a large way. She was so grateful for them. _

"Thank you, so, so much," Ale whispered, Nate nodding at her. He felt like he had made up a bit for the wrong doings he had done to Ale when he had first met her.

But only a little bit.

"You should go see them. Help them pack, get cleaned up, things like that," Hardison smiled.

"And where will they be staying?" Ale asked, looking at Nate.

"Hardison is looking for a place," Nate sighed.

"I have an idea," Ale smiled, the team not being able to help but smile, too.


	8. Almost Perfect

"_Are you sure you want to do this?" Haridson asked as he drove to the house that Ale's grandfather left for her and her brother._

"_I'm sure. A lot of the guys are getting their own apartments in the new apartment complex anyway. The ones that are staying can move into one room for a year. It won't kill them. Plus, I want to know that I'm helping them. And now, when the kids get a little older and still don't have a place to go, they can stay there. The guys aren't going to live there forever," Ale shrugged._

_She had decided to let the kids stay in the house until the new and improved orphanage was opened. It was a way she knew she could help…after all, now that there were new caretakers, they didn't really need Ale to be in charge of everything. She would be just a volunteer, instead of their number one. It was better for the kids, she knew, but she still needed to feel like she was helping._

"_I think it's wonderful," Sophie cooed from the back seat, Ale smiling. The kids had been packed up and were getting sent to the house as they headed there, the boys condensing all of their stuff so the kids would have room. _

_They were eager to help, and knew how much the kids meant to Ale—not to mention how much Ale meant to them._

_Once they got to the house Ale immediately put up the Welcome Home banner she made, and ran copies of the child bio's she had typed up. Once she realized that there would be new caretakers, Ale decided that she should write a little something about each of the kids—their favorite songs, their favorite foods, what they were afraid of—that the medical records didn't show. It had taken her almost all night, but it was worth it. _

"_You all set?" Nate asked, walking into the office that held the copy machine Ale was using._

"_Yeah. I have some copies of the bios, the sign is up, the beds were delivered and made…the fridge is full and so are the cupboards, the boys have either packed up to move or moved into a new room already—now all we need are the kids," Ale shrugged._

Nate could see the happiness in Ale's eyes, but he could also see the sadness. He could imagine how hard it would be giving up control of the kids…she was their everything for so long.

She was the type of person who needed someone to help…it was all she had done for years. First her mother, then her father, and then the kids. She didn't know how to just be…she didn't know how to focus on herself or her feelings.

She needed something to do—she needed a way to help.

"Hey Ale?" Nate said, Ale looking up from the papers she was shuffling. "What's next for you?"

"I don't know," Ale shrugged, laughing a bit. "The kids certainly don't need me anymore, and a lot of the boys are gone. I guess I will have to find something new."

"How would you like to come back with us, the team? There are a lot of people who could use someone like you, right in Boston."

_Ale wasn't sure if she wanted to go with the team back to Boston. She definitely didn't want to stay in Italy—it was too hard to have the graves of her family looming over her head, the memories of her life flooding through her with each cobblestone street._

_She wasn't sure she could handle being in Boston, either. There weren't as many memories for her there—she and Lio had only lived there for as long as she was investigating the company who sold her father the drugs—but the team was there, and it would be so easy for her to get attached, something she was fearful of._

Nate could see the struggle in Ale's eyes, but he wasn't sure what parts of her were fighting.

"I would love to go back. I miss Boston," Ale finally said, sounding as though she was trying to convince herself.

"I will make sure Hardison books your ticket," Nate nodded, smiling to himself.

He was one step close to having Ale on the team, and bringing the perfect piece to their almost-perfect team.


	9. The Girl She Was

"_You're going back to Boston?" Emilio asked, looking at Ale as she packed._

"_Yeah. It's too much here," Ale shrugged. "I'm sorry."_

"_What about us?" Emilio asked._

"_You and the guys will be fine," Ale said. "I mean, most of the guys are moving to that new apartment complex and it will be like one big party there. They are all doing well getting over Lio and it's time they all move on, which is almost impossible to do if I am still here, dealing with it myself. It's constant reminders, you know?"_

"_I get it, I do, but I was talking about us. You and me."_

"_What about us?"_

"_We were becoming something. I could feel it."_

"_I could too…but if it was worth having it is worth keeping while I'm in Boston. I'm going to be visiting and it will be the same."_

"_Really? Because the only time I ever saw you was when I came to the orphanage. You get pulled into these people and never stick your head up from the sand. It was the same thing with your Mama and Papa as it was with the kids. I tried so hard to keep you here, and you let your heart be locked with them."_

"_It's just the way I am," Ale shrugged, a little angered with Emilio. She didn't understand why he was so upset that she wanted to help people._

"_And that's why it's impossible to be with you. We had something great before you and your family moved, and now you've come back but you still haven't come back to me. I miss you, Alessandra…you aren't the same and I miss you."_

"_You're right. I'm not the same. All of my family is gone, Emilio. I watched my Mama and Papa wither away to nothing and I held Lio in my lap as he died. I had to tell him it was okay to leave, when all I wanted to do was tell him to stay. It was hell, watching all of them die and leave me here alone and I know it's selfish but sometimes I am so angry at them for dying. So no, I'm not the same. When I'm not angry I am sad, or trying to feel nothing at all so that I can breathe. I sometimes wish I could be with them for just a minute. I was taken and beaten and raped and reduced to nothing, all so that Lio could be killed when I got out._

"_Those kids saved me. If it weren't for them I would have retreated into a hole so deep you wouldn't have been able to find me so I am sorry if I am not the same girl I was before I lost everything in my life—the same girl I was when we were young, and in love, and we were each other's first everything. I can't be her and that scares me and that's why I need to not be here and surrounded by everyone that knew her."_

Hardison had forgotten to turn of Ale's com, which was still on her bed while she packed, which meant that, as they waited in the hotel, the team heard everything that Ale said.

Sophie told Hardison to turn it off but Nate told him to keep it on…if the team was going to accept Ale as their own they needed to know how she was, truly.

"_I didn't mean it like that," Emilio sighed._

"_Get out of my room," Ale whispered, tears clinging on the edge of her voice._

"_Ale—"_

"_Please, just get out."_

"I thought we had fixed her," Parker whispered, looking at the team. Everyone's face softened, feeling for both the thief and Ale. They both felt so strongly that it was their job to save something—Parker thought she had to save Ale and Ale thought she had to save the world.

"It's going to take a while, Parker. But we will," Nate said, Parker nodding.

"I think Ale could use some help packing, yes?" Sophie sighed, standing. The team quickly grabbed up their things, piling into Lucille to pick up Ale and take her home.


	10. Unwanted Memories

It had been extremely difficult for the team to watch Ale say goodbye to the boys and the kids. All of the guys gave her big bear hugs and they talked for a few minutes.

The kids also gave Ale huge hugs, each of them handing her a letter, card or picture that they made for her. It was heartbreaking to watch the kids say goodbye to Ale, but she stayed strong during all of it, the new caretakers being so good with the kids as they were upset. The boys also helped, making it a bit easier on Ale.

The last goodbye came from Emilio. Despite their argument earlier, Ale and Emilio held each other in their arms for a long time, whispering back and forth.

By the time Ale had said goodbye to everyone it was time to board the plane, the team getting to the airport in the nick of time. Ale sat in her seat, unfazed. Sophie watched her closely, assuming that it was going to be hard for her to leave.

Instead, she sat in completely silence, her face a mask, void of any emotion.

"Do you think what she said is true? That she doesn't know who she is?" Hardison asked, looking at Sophie from across the aisle. Ale had been smushed between Parker and Eliot before the team could switch the tickets around since they were a bit late boarding.

"I think that she is going to have a very tough time coming back to Boston. She is going to have to face a lot of demons…it's going to be difficult. We all were compelled with her strength, but we have to understand that it's going to crumble a lot before it is fully present again," Sophie shrugged.

_The flight seemed quick to Ale, her waking up just as they were landing. At some point she had fallen asleep, and when her eyes opened again her head was resting on Eliot's shoulder._

_She wanted so badly to pick her head up quickly, but the cold she had was lingering and it was so much easier to just stay down._

"_You're awake," Parker said, always being the first to notice when Ale arrived or woke up. _

"_I am," Ale nodded, sitting up slowly._

"_How's that cold doing?" Eliot asked, a knowing smile on his lips. Ale's eyes widened, wondering how he knew about it. "You still have a fever. You felt a little warm on my shoulder."_

_Ale nodded, thinking of an answer. Before she could speak, however, it was time to exit the aircraft._

_Ale allowed herself to get pulled to the luggage cart with Parker, remembering the last time she was in the airport with the team._

_She was hurt then, in a different way than now, leaning her weight on Eliot's shoulder. Now, whenever she was in his presence she didn't know how to act…were they friends like before she went to Italy, or did Eliot want her to keep her distance?_

_Sure, he had apologized but there was still something he wasn't telling Ale, and she was worried her actions would make it worse._

"_I cannot wait until I get to show you my place. The ceiling is filled with lines for zip lining and the roof is prime for jumping," Parker rambling, grabbing her stuff. Ale grabbed her bags, only having a few since she sent the rest of her luggage ahead of time._

"_It will be great," Ale nodded, Parker linking her arm through hers as they walked through the airport. When they got outside Lucille was waiting, Ale immediately confused._

"_Lucille was in Italy," she stated to no one in particular._

"_That was international Lucille. This is the original," Hardison smiled, glad to see his pride and joy waiting for him._

"_Wow," Ale nodded, throwing her luggage in the back. Her phone ran then, her quickly dismissing the unknown number._

"Everything okay?" Eliot asked, looking at Ale as she put her phone back in her jeans pocket.

"Yeah," she nodded, sending a quick smile his way. Hardison noticed, however, and quickly pulled Ale to the side. Eliot watched with interest as the two spoke, feeling as though there was something he should know.

"Was that the number?" Hardison asked, Ale nodding. "Do you ever answer it?"

"I've always been working at the orphanage. I didn't see the point in answering if I didn't know them. But then I noticed it was the same number, every time. It's not telemarketers because they have my house number for those calls. When I called back it said the number was unavailable."

"Next time it rings and we are around my equipment you will answer. Until then I will just try to trace it. I wouldn't worry about it though," Hardison smiled.

"Thanks Hardison," she nodded, climbing into the car.

The conversation didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the team, either, Nate and Sophie sharing a questioning look.

"So, for dinner tonight I was thinking we could do Chinese takeout," Nate said once they got in the car.

"I'm actually going to go back to my house tonight, I think. I have a lot of stuff to clean up there and I should start unpacking from Italy," Ale said, the entire team looking at her.

"You want to go back to that house?" Sophie asked, horrified. That is where Ale had spent time with her brother and where she had been taken by Buchamp's men.

"I have to at some point," Ale shrugged.

"We can drop you off, if you would like," Nate offered, Ale shaking her head.

"I'll just take a cab from the bar. Thanks, though," Ale smiled, seeming lost in her own thoughts.

_Truth was, Ale didn't want to go to her house. She and Lio had spent months there together…they hadn't been in the town long enough to make their own friends so they were the only entertainment the other had._

_And there was the memories of the day she got attacked. She hadn't told anyone about that day, and she hadn't told anyone how it happened. She didn't want to. It was so much easier to forget if you just pushed it out of your memory._

_Once they got back to the bar Ale grabbed her bags and immediately, leaving before the team could argue that she should stay for dinner. _

_She told the driver where to take her, quickly arriving at her house._

_As soon as they pulled, up, though, it was as if Ale couldn't breathe._

"_Do you need help with your bags, Miss?" the driver asked, looking at Ale. _

_She shook her head, lifting the bags out of the trunk. Ale gave the man her fair, walking up to the front door. As she tried to steady her breathing she put in the key and entered into a world of unwanted memories._


	11. A World Lost

"Where's Ale?" Nate asked, looking around the living room. They had gotten everything out of Lucille and were now waiting for the food to be delivered. "I thought she would have at least waited to leave until she could say goodbye."

"She took her bags and hailed a cab as soon as we pulled up to the bar," Parker shrugged, everyone else looking at her. "She wanted to leave. I wasn't going to stop her."

"Well you could have tried to convince her to stay. Or offered to help her. Or ask her when she was planning on stopping by," Sophie offered, Parker staring at her blankly.

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know Parker," Sophie said, shaking her head.

"Do you think she's alright?" Eliot asked, the team looking at him. Those were the first words he had spoken to them since Sophie yelled at him.

"We can check," Hardison sang, pulling out his laptop. "We installed cameras in the house when she first went missing so we could monitor any other activity. They are still active."

"We really shouldn't intrude on Ale's life," Nate said, already feeling badly about leaving the com on earlier.

"Yes we should if it means we know how she's handling this," Sophie argued, Hardison looking between the two like arguing parents.

"Fine. But we will tell her someday that we watched her."

"Fine. Roll it, Hardison."

The cameras popped up on the screen, Ale walking into the foyer of the house. The team watched as she slowly set down her bags, flipping on some lights.

_Ale's first stop was the kitchen, sucking in a breath as she saw the mess her captors left. There was glass all over the floor, and blood smeared on the counters. Ale didn't expect that Lio had cleaned it up, but she was wishing he had._

_Ale began picking up the glass, her hands trembling. Once she finished picking up the glass she got a bowl full of soapy water, hoping, in vain, that the suds would be enough to wipe away some of the evidence of her attack._

"She shouldn't have to do that," Parker whispered. The team looked at her, Parker shrugging. "It's just…if I got attacked, I would not want to clean up my own blood. And I definitely wouldn't use soapy water when it had been there for so long, but I don't think that she's thinking clearly."

"You are very right, Parker," Sophie said, Parker seeming pleased with herself.

_Ale realized how stupid she was to think soapy water would clean anything so she gave up on the kitchen for the moment, going into the living room. Before she disappeared she and Lio were in the middle of a game of Monopoly. It was still set up on the coffee table, Lio's and her pieces next to each other._

_Even in a game they couldn't be separated._

_That was all Ale needed to break. She crumpled to the ground, her knees pulled to her chest as she cried._

Ale cried for a few hours before she finally drifted off to sleep on the floor.

"We should go get her," Sophie cooed, she and Nate the only ones still watching her.

"And tell her what?" Nate asked, Sophie shrugging.

"We could bring leftovers to her."

"Why don't we leave her for now? Give her some space?"

"Fine. But she might be on a downward spiral that we have to stop, you know."

"I understand. Do you also know that she hasn't had any time to deal with anything that's happened yet? If you had a loss as big as hers, her entire family, and some of her innocence, would you want a bunch of people you barely know around you at all times?"

Sophie looked at him for a moment, a little upset with how angry he was at her. Then again, she knew he had dealt with a big loss too, and she didn't want to push it.

"I would just want to know that someone is there," Sophie whispered, walking out of the room.

Nate continued to watch the screen, though, thinking back to when he had lost his entire world, too.

**A/N: I know these past few chapters have been short and things seem slow BUT once Ale is over this hump things will really get moving! **

**I promise!**

**Thank you for reading and thank you for your reviews! They all mean so much!**


	12. Nate's Words

It had been a week since anyone on the team had talked to Ale. Sure, they checked up on her once and a while on the cameras, but they hadn't actually talked to her. Parker had gone over to the house a few times but would get nervous before she could actually knock on the door.

Eliot had apologized to the team, all of them easily forgiving him.

What the team didn't know, however, was that at night, after Eliot got his very limited sleep, he would pull up the feed from Ale's house and watch was going on. He only meant to do it once, but then he was hooked. Ale would fall asleep on the couch, waking up at some point in the middle of the night, not going back to sleep.

Eliot couldn't remember the last time she had gotten more than a few hours of sleep at a time. I mean, he didn't get a lot of sleep, but he was trained not to. Ale, on the other hand, wasn't.

During the days she would clean out Lio's room or work on packing up other things of his. The Monopoly board was still out, though, and Ale never stepped foot in the kitchen. She never drifted off to sleep, even though it was clear she definitely needed it. And at night, after she got a few hours or rest, she sat in the living room, the TV on, but her eyes watching the door instead of the set.

"If you are going to sneak into my apartment every night just so you can watch a girl, I am going to have to ask you to leave," Nate said, walking into the living room and making Eliot jump.

"How long have you known I've been here?"

"Well you've been coming for about a week, so about a week ago. Why are you doing this, Eliot?"

Eliot laughed at himself, wondering why he ever thought Nate wouldn't figure out he was there.

"I just want to make sure that the house is secure and there are no repercussions with the Buchamp thing," Eliot shrugged, Nate scoffing.

"That's bullshit if I ever heard it," Nate sighed, sitting down next to Eliot. He turned off the screen so that all Eliot would be able to focus on is his voice.

Eliot was surprised that Nate would have sworn…it wasn't common for him to swear in such a nonchalant way…he was a much more sophisticated man that that. That isn't to say he never swore. He did, just not usually to his own people in such a calm matter.

"What are you getting at, Nate?" Eliot growled, looking at the older man.

"When we first got this case you were different…Ale was someone who captured all of our attention. But you…there was something about her that changed you. And I have never seen you so happy with someone, or in general, than you were once Ale woke up. You truly cared for her. We all did. And then it was time to leave, and that scared you. The overwhelming urge you had to beg Ale to stay with us, for you to stay with her, to keep her safe…that scared you. You are not afraid of a lot of things, Eliot, but feeling something is one of your biggest fears. You only let the team in because you know we can protect ourselves, and that you can protect us. You let Ale in on accident, and it terrified you how much you wanted to keep her there.

"And then we left, and you couldn't handle missing her so much. And you refused to call her because that would be admitting that you actually liked the girl. And now, here she is again, and you are too stuck on yourself to help her with something the rest of us can't understand. I lost Sam, but you lost hundreds of fellow soldiers. She lost her whole family, Eliot. You know how that feels. Your military family, they are gone. And you could help Ale. You and her were so close before she left, and that scared you. Be a man, Eliot. Stop running from your feelings."

Eliot let Nate's words sink in, then thought of a response that wouldn't sound completely stupid.

"Did you open the gift she gave you?" Eliot asked Nate, Nate looking at little surprised. He wasn't expecting Eliot to ask him that.

"I did. She got me a hand carved chess set. The pieces were made of what Sam thought they should be when we use to play. The paws are little trolls, the king and queen real people, the rooks tall castle towers, knights actual horses, and the spades are little court jesters. When she was healing up after the attack we would play. I told her about Sam…something about her made me feel like it was okay to remember in a good way. I told her how he invented this whole world of chess. She listened and remembered it all. She gave everyone a good gift like that. I'm not sure what they received, but all of the gifts were special."

"Mine was too. She gave me a book. It's called Les Miserables. It was her own copy…one of the first ever printed. She had notes and highlights all over it. I didn't understand why she wanted me to have it. And then I read it. It is about a man who stole bread in order to feed his sister's family. He went to jail and then sort of escaped. He became the mayor of this town and raised an orphan girl and helped lead the revolution. At the end of his life he felt like a fraud…like he didn't deserve the beautiful life he was given. Instead, he wanted to die alone. His daughter came to him and told him how much of a saint he was…that he wasn't a bad man. He simply did what he needed to do for his family. That's how Ale made me feel. She made me forget the bad I had done and made me feel like I deserved a life…a real life with a family and the team and happiness. I just…I didn't know that I could be happy again. And I don't know why Ale has this pull on me…but I cannot get her out of my mind. Ever. When we left her in Italy, I stayed there with her. I couldn't focus as well, and I was constantly needing to know if she was okay, or if she had anything funny to say. I just didn't, and still don't, understand why I like her so goddamn much and why I deserve her in my life at all," Eliot sighed.

"Well then tell her that," Nate scolded. "Because she is an amazing girl…she isn't going anywhere, and the last thing she needs is someone she thought she could count on acting like a jackass."

Nate left the room, Eliot sighing. Nate was right…Ale did need someone, and before Italy, he was the someone Ale needed, and he could be that again.

He only hoped that Ale would remember that.


	13. Nightmares

_The room Ale was in was cold. She was connected to chains and her entire body hurt. It had been weeks and she was still being tortured. It was horrible._

_Suddenly the door to the room opened and Ale wasn't surprised to see the man standing there again, fire in his eyes._

_Luckily, she woke up before he had time to hurt her— again._

Two nights after Nate and Eliot's talk, Eliot's phone rang as he sat in the bar, celebrating with the team after a small job they pulled went off without a hitch.

It was late, almost one in the morning, so he was shocked anyone would be calling him. He answered quickly, surprised to hear sobbing on the other end.

"Hello?" Eliot said, the team looking at him with questions in their eyes.

"How do you get them to stop? The nightmares?" he heard the voice on the other end sob, Eliot immediately recognizing the voice as Ale's.

"I'll be right there, darlin'," he answered, his heart racing.

That's why she wasn't sleeping. She was having nightmares. He should have known. He wasn't sure how Ale got his number (he was assuming Sophie had given Ale all of their numbers in case of emergency) but he was glad she had it. Nate had been right—he could help her. Maybe if she needed his help, and she was willing to be in the same room as him despite his previously horrible attitude, they could get back even a sliver of the friendship they had before Ale went to Italy.

And that sliver could turn into something else.

By the time Eliot got to Ale's house the porch light had been turned on and the door unlocked, Eliot finding his way into the living room.

Ale looked hauntingly beautiful, her dark hair framing her face, a large long sleeve shirt covering her entire frame. It must have been Lio's, the baseball looking shirt having the Boston Red Sox logo across the chest. Ale looked so small, sitting on the couch in the large shirt.

"I'm sorry I called you. I just couldn't anymore," Ale shrugged, her voice sounding empty. Eliot sat down next to her on the couch, waiting for her to move or say something.

When she didn't, Eliot looked at her, taking in her appearance. There were dark circles under her green eyes, and they were puffy and red, showing traces of the tears he had heard just a few minutes earlier. In fact, Ale looked like she had been crying nonstop since they got back from Italy.

"You have nothing to apologize for. Did you have them in Italy?" Eliot asked, Ale shaking her head softly.

"I didn't have time to. Here, though…all I see is them taking me or torturing me again. They are nothing but the truth and I know I'm okay but I just keep having to see it over and over again. And then Lio dies in my lap and I still can't stop it," she whispered, shrugging a bit. "I know it's not real and that I shouldn't be scared but I can't help it."

"You have every right to be scared. What those men did to you was not right. And you handled a lot at once, and you were strong so that you could honor Lio. It is okay to be afraid of something once and a while," Eliot assured her. "Sometimes it helps to talk about the nightmares."

"I didn't know they were in the house. How stupid could I be that I didn't know people are in my house? And I turned around and there they were in their stupid suits. The grabbed me and cut me and…touched me. And then they knocked me out. And all I keep seeing over and over is their faces as they fought me. Any time they came into that cell they were so happy to hurt me," Ale whispered, Eliot noticing her starting to shake. "The kids asked me about my scars when they saw them. And I couldn't answer. I couldn't even think of a lie, because I can't get past the truth."

"You shouldn't have to get past it. It isn't something to hurtle over or forget. You have every right to be upset and to be afraid. But you should know that no matter what, no one is going to hurt you again. I promise you that. And you can take all of the time in the world to heal…you don't have to push it down and refuse to feel. Trust me…it's not a good thing."

Ale sighed, her lip quivering.

"I just wish that they would leave me alone," she whispered, her eyes starting to close. Before Eliot knew it Ale was leaning her head on his shoulder, falling asleep instantly. He readjusted so that Ale's head rested on his chest so she could spread out a bit more. He took the blanket off the back of the couch, spreading it over Ale. Then, as Ale slept on his chest, he allowed himself to have nothing but sweet dreams.

_When Ale woke up she realized she was lying on someone's chest. After a moment, she realized whose chest it was._

"_Mornin'," Eliot's voice grumbled, a smile playing on his lips. Ale could tell he had been up for a while…he was too alert having to have just woken up._

"_Hey. I'm so sorry about last night," Ale sighed, sitting up. She refused to look at Eliot…she had one single moment of weakness and went running straight to the guy she figured could fix everything, just because they had been close her first time around with the team._

"_Ale, look at me," he said, his voice soft, yet firm. Ale did as she was told, Eliot's eyes showing nothing but sincerity and concern. Just like they had when she first woke up what seemed so long ago. "You need to stop apologizing. I know what you are going through, kind of, and I am not going to let you go through it alone. I know I haven't been the greatest friend to you, and I'm sorry, but those five months you spent in Italy gave a lot of time for your fears to get bigger. The team and I don't want you to suffer any more, at least not alone, and if that means you call me every night at two o'clock in the morning, so be it," Eliot said, Ale's heart fluttering in her chest._

_Something about Eliot made her feel so safe. Those five months where they hadn't talked and he didn't give her a proper goodbye, Ale hung onto how it was when Eliot was happy and smiling and her friend. They had a connection that was undeniable to anyone…and yet, he put her at a distance. _

_Now, however, he seemed ready to come back with open arms. And she was ready to let him. _

_After all, she needed friends, and she definitely needed someone to help her. She couldn't keep facing her demons every time she closed her eyes._

"_Fine. Do you want some breakfast?" Ale asked, standing. Eliot laughed, standing as well. _

"_Sure. What did you have in mind?"_

"_The diner down the street. I don't use the kitchen anymore" Ale said, walking up the stairs. "I'm just going to get changed."_

_When Ale came back downstairs she was surprised to see the kitchen completely cleaned, all of the blood stains gone. Eliot came in from the hallway, looking at her._

"_I hope it was okay that I cleaned it. I had a few tricks from the trade and didn't want them, or your kitchen, go to waste."_

"_No it's fine. Thank you. I still would prefer to eat out, though," she smiled, Eliot nodding._

"_We'll work on it. You ready?"_

"_Definitely," Ale nodded, grabbing her bag off of the hook in the hall. Eliot drove them to the diner, Ale walking in confidently. Everyone there yelled her name, smiling and running to hug her._

"_Where have you been?" one of the servers asked, her accent thick and her eyes showing concern for Ale. _

"_I had some business to take of back home," Ale smiled._

"_And where is your brother?" she asked, looking at her. Ale and Lio had frequented the diner a lot, usually taking their morning run together, eating, then walking home. They also hung out there on rainy days or when neither one of them felt like cooking._

"_He passed away in an accident a few months ago," Ale said, the woman's eyes filling with tears. _

"_I am so sorry Ale. That is the last thing you needed," she cooed, pulling Ale back into her arms. "Anything you need, you come to us."_

"_Yes ma'am," Ale smiled, glad that the people at the diner were still there for her. They were such sweet people. _

Eliot could see how torn up everyone was about Lio, but he could also see how much they cared about Ale.

"What can I get for you and your man today?" the woman asked, looking between Eliot and Ale.

"Wanda, this is my _friend_ Eliot. I will have my usual, if you wouldn't mind."

"And I'll have what she's having," I answered, Wanda smiling at me.

"A southern gentleman. Good pick on your _friend, _Ale," Wanda winked, going into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry about her," Ale laughed, picking up the coffee cup that a different waitress had put on our table once Wanda left.

"Nothin' to be sorry for. I take it you and Lio came here a lot?" Eliot asked, Ale nodding.

"Yes. It was our place. Not a lot of people come here, and the food is good and the staff even better. We would spend hours here."

"You miss him," Eliot stated, taking in Ale's sad eyes. She nodded, smiling weakly.

"I do. I miss all of my family. But Lio…I don't know. You expect your parents to die before you. You never imagine burying your brother."

"I know what you mean," Eliot whispered, wishing there was some way he could take Ale's pain away.

The talked until their food came, French toast being slapped in front of Ale and Eliot.

"Anything else I can get for you, sugars?" Wanda asked, Ale shaking her head.

"This is perfect. Thank you," she smiled, her smile so sincere and genuine.

Eliot took a bite of his food, amazed with the taste.

"I take it you like it?" Ale asked, laughing at Eliot's syrup covered face.

"I usually hate French toast. This…this is good," he grumbled, shoving some more into his mouth.

Once they had finished they sipped on coffee, Eliot asking Ale about her time at the orphanage. Her eyes lit up the whole time she spoke, explaining all of the different children she met and cute things they had done. Eliot was amazed at her ability to remember the little facts about each of the kids, and he was even more amazed to hear just how much she actually did for the kids.

"Do you miss them?" Eliot asked, Ale nodding once again.

"I do. But the boys keep me updated, and the special website Hardison set up is perfect to see who got adopted. And whenever I really miss them, I pull out the cards they made me."

_Ale had loved the cards. The first time she read through them, she had assumed that the new workers helped the kids or the boys came up with the idea. One little boy, Michael, actually revealed the culprit in his writing, talking about how he helped him spell her name. Ale promised herself that she would thank who was responsible for it. They meant the world to her._

"_Those were a nice surprise," Eliot nodded, looking at Ale._

"_They were," she smiled, winking at Eliot. "Thank you."_


	14. The Summons

The team hadn't heard from Eliot since he left the bar four nights ago. They also hadn't tried to contact him, either. They didn't want to be pushy. Whatever he left the bar for, it was important.

The team had never seen him so concerned.

"Do you think we should, you know, call him?" Hardison offered, looking at Nate and Sophie. The three had been prepping for a client meeting and Hardison had been wondering how exactly they were going to do a job without their hitter.

"I think that we should wait a little longer," Nate sighed. "Whatever he went to do was important to him, and probably very private. We shouldn't push."

"Fine. But I might have stumbled across where he is through some other research," Hardison said guiltily. Nate and Sophie rolled their eyes, knowing that Hardison was just concerned for his friend.

"And what kind of research are we talking about, Hardison?" Sophie asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

"I was checking on Ale," Hardison shrugged, pulling up the feed to Alessandra's house. Eliot's pick-up was out front, and a second view of the house revealed Ale and Eliot watching a movie in the living room.

"And I found something, by the way," Hardison said, looking at a smiling Nate and Sophie. "And once I tell you, you probably won't be smiling."

_The door to the room opened, a man being shoved through, landing roughly on his knees. _

"_You have a brother," the man in the suit said, smiling at Ale. She looked at the man who laid on the ground, her brother's face appearing before her._

"_And you are going to kill him," the man laughed, grabbing one of Ale's hands, placing a gun in her palm. The gun was cold and heavy. Ale hated the way it felt in her arms. _

_For the first time since she had been placed in the cell, she began to cry._

"_Please don't make me kill him. I will do anything. Please," she sobbed. _

"_You should have thought of that before now," the man taunted, putting his hand on hers, making her pull the trigger._

_Ale had killed her brother._

Eliot was jostled awake when Ale's body started shaking on the couch next to him. Eliot noticed that Ale was a very stoic sleeper, and she was so deep in her nightmares and so frozen in fear that she did thrash or scream. Her body always shook, and tears fell rapidly from her eyes. She would, on occasion, let out a few sobs, but she had rarely called out or thrashed around.

If anything, this seemed to make her nightmares even more frightening.

Ale's body was shaking more than usual, and Eliot longed to wake her up. In the past four nights, however, they had discovered that she got scared if Eliot woke her up and it took her much longer to calm down. It was torture to watch Ale suffer and to not be able to do anything about it. It was as if she was back in that damn cell.

Ale sat up with a start, the blanket that Eliot had put on her once she had fallen asleep falling off of her body. Ale looked around, her chest heaving with sobs.

"It's alright darlin'," Eliot whispered, Ale finding him in the chair. He saw a new fear in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

Eliot had catalogued the different dreams she had. The ones where she cried the most were the ones where Lio died in her arms. There was one where she woke up and immediately vomited—those were the ones where she relived the rape, and those were the ones Eliot found the hardest to calm her down from. She usually didn't want his help and preferred to be alone. She would, eventually, come back out of her shell, but until then, it was like she was frozen. Then there the dreams where she woke up with no tears but she was extremely jumpy…those were the ones where she was being taken. And lastly, the calmest of the four, was where she was being tortured.

The look in Ale's eyes that was there now, however, was scaring him. He hadn't seen her cry this much since he heard her sobbing in Sophie's arms the night she planed Lio's funeral.

"What happened?" Eliot asked softly, the routine familiar.

"They…they made me kill him," Ale sobbed. "He put a gun in my hand and he made me pull the trigger. I killed him," she cried, Eliot standing from his spot. He pulled Ale into his lap, shocked with how violently her body was shaking.

"I killed him," she whispered, over and over again as Eliot held her in his arms.

He rocked her back and forth, rubbing her back and trying to calm her down. She couldn't stop saying how she killed her brother, though, and Eliot hated how true the words sounded to her.

He wasn't sure how long he held Ale in his lap, but she eventually calmed down, her breathing going back to normal and the only part of her still shaking being her hands.

"It felt so real," Ale whispered after a while, Eliot nodding. "I can't do this anymore," Ale sighed, Eliot looking down at her and pushing some hair out of her face.

"I know, darlin'," he nodded. Ale stood, looking down at Eliot. She had a question in her eyes—Eliot could tell she was holding something back.

"Will you…sleep with me?" Ale asked, wincing at how it sounded. Eliot blushed a little, standing as well. He cleared his throat just as Ale was about to say something else.

"May I?" Eliot asked, Ale nodding. Eliot scooped Ale up in his arms, carrying her up the stairs to her room. Ale slipped in under the covers, Eliot laying down on top. It had been a regular occurrence, both of them usually watching a movie and falling asleep on top of the covers. Ale had about two or three nightmares a night, and after the first one Eliot usually moved to the couch that was in the room, realizing that he and Ale were sharing a bed. Tonight was the first night that Ale had actually asked him to stay, and the first night that there were no plans of leaving.

"You don't have to sleep on top of the covers. It's not like we're naked," Ale joked, already sounding half asleep. Eliot chuckled, slipping into the bed.

It had been a long time since he had shared a bed with a woman when he wasn't naked. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he spent more than one night with a woman.

With Ale, however, he was doing a lot of things he hadn't done in a long time. He was wearing sweatpants and watching movies and playing board games and gardening and actually talking and laughing and sharing things about himself. She had such a presence, and it couldn't be ignored. As Ale slept, Eliot began to get drowsy as well. Before he fully gave in to sleep, he felt Ale curl her body into his side, her head landing on his chest with a heavy thump. It was clear she was completely asleep, but the fact that Ale had found safety in his arms all on her own still made him smile.

_This time, the man that came in was alone. He had an evil grin on his face, and a knife in his hand. He smiled at Ale whenever she asked him what he was doing, and he was practically laughing as he pressed his lips against hers._

Eliot snapped awake at the sound of Ale getting sick in her bathroom. He didn't know how he had missed her having a nightmare—he always woke up when she began to shake. Just when he was about to get up to help Ale, she came back into the room, her silhouette illuminated by the light in the bathroom as she leaned against the doorframe.

"You alright?" Eliot asked, Ale nodding slightly. "Are you going to go back to sleep?" Eliot asked. "Because I can leave," he offered, knowing she usually liked to be alone after she had that particular dream.

"Will you stay?" she asked, her voice sounding so small and weak.

"Only if you'll let me," Eliot smiled, Ale padding back over to the bed, slipping under the covers, tucking herself back into Eliot's side.

"I'm sorry that I am such a hassle," Ale whispered.

"You, Ale, are nothing of a hassle," Eliot assured her, running his hand through her hair as she fell asleep once again.

The next time Eliot woke up the sun was streaming through the window and his phone was ringing. Ale wasn't next to him on the bed and her space was cold, indicating she had been gone for a while.

"What do you want, Hardison?" Eliot grumbled, getting out of bed. He plodded down the stairs, smelling food cooking in the kitchen.

"We need to have a meeting today. 12:00 at Nate's."

"I'm kind of busy with something," Eliot answered, peeking into the kitchen. Sure enough, Ale was cooking, music playing from her iPod speakers on the counter.

"It's about Ale," Hardison said. Eliot's heart stopped. "Can you pick her up and bring her with you?" Hardison said softly.

"You know that I'm here, don't you?" Eliot asked, sighing. He should have figured Hardison would have checked up on Ale.

"I didn't go looking, I found it by accident. Just, know that we are happy someone is helping her. But you do really have to come to Nate's today. And bring her too," Hardison said, no patronizing tone accompanying is voice like it usually was.

Eliot hung up, greeted by Ale's smiling face in the kitchen.

"You're cooking," Eliot stated, Ale laughing.

"Yes. I am. They can terrorize me in my dreams, but not in my actual life. So when I woke up at 5:30 this morning I thought, screw it, I'm a damn good cook, so I'm going to cook. Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes and muffins as well as some cubed fruit are all on the dining room table, ready for us to eat," Ale rambled, Eliot not being able to help himself from smiling.

Hardison's call was in the back of his mind, though, the entire time he and Ale ate. Something about the way he talked with Eliot made him worry.

If Hardison hadn't been pulling any jokes, then something was definitely wrong. And it had to do with Ale—the Ale who was finally cooking in her own kitchen—which automatically made it ten times worse.

"So I have some errands to run today," Eliot said as he and Ale cleaned up.

"Can I come?" Ale asked, not too keen on being left alone. She had gotten used to having someone else in the house, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be alone again.

"That's the plan. We have been summoned to Nate's."

"Why?"

"Apparently it has something to do with you," Eliot shrugged, Ale freezing.

"So first I am summoned and then I find out it's all because of me? Well this is a lovely start to the day," she joked, Eliot smiling.

He didn't dare mention how serious it sounded. After all, he loved the sight of Ale's smile, and he didn't want to be the reason it went away.


	15. Always Watching

"_Would you stop fidgeting?" Eliot grumbled, Ale sighing and slumping in her seat. _

"_Well I am sorry. I have never been summoned before," Ale sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. _

Eliot couldn't help but laugh at Ale…she looked both young and old as she sat in the seat beside him. She was pouting like a five year old but her eyes looked like they held years of secrets.

"_Don't laugh at me," Ale snapped, running her hand through her hair. For some reason, she was extremely nervous to see the team today. It felt like she got caught by her dad after making out in her bedroom with a boy, but she hadn't made out with anyone and had nothing to get caught for. _

_She was a little worried they would know how badly she was adjusting to being back in the house and back in the states. They were, after all, master grifters and masterminds, and they could read people like a book. She didn't need them taking one look at her and thinking they had to fix her and take care of her until she was better. Sure she wanted, and needed, their support, but she didn't want them to drop everything to help her get over her little issues._

"_I'm sure it will be fine," Eliot said softly, Ale smiling at him._

"_Yeah. They probably just want to update me on the orphanage."_

_Ale and Eliot didn't talk the rest of the ride, a peaceful silence surrounding them._

_When they got to the bar Eliot held the door open for Ale, walking behind her as she walked the familiar path to Nate's apartment upstairs. She knew that Hardison lived in the apartment across the hall, and she assumed Sophie lived somewhere close by. She had always wondered where Eliot called home, and what strange abode Parker had dubbed her hideout._

"_Should we knock?" Ale asked once they arrived at the door. Eliot smiled, rolling his eyes. He opened the door to the apartment, walking in easily and sitting down on the couch._

_Ale stood in the doorway for a second, a little hesitant._

"_Ale, get your pretty little self in here before I drag you in," Eliot teased, Ale immediately blushing. She knew Eliot was just giving her a hard time, but he had called her pretty._

Eliot wanted to slap himself in the face. He had called Ale pretty, which she most definitely was, especially today in her little sundress, but he wasn't supposed to be liking her like that. He was supposed to be there as her friend and, you know, stop liking her so damn much.

_Ale walked into the apartment, Parker immediately popping up in front of her._

"_You came! Eliot probably had to drag you out of your house, and I'm sorry if he was grumpy. He's been like that since we left you in Italy," she rambled, Ale looking over at Eliot with raised eyebrows._

"_I couldn't imagine Eliot ever being grumpy," Ale teased, allowing Parker to lead her to the couch. Parker sat Ale down on the couch next to Eliot, plopping down on the sofa next to her._

_Ale quickly took in Eliot's face, which had turned red in the past few minutes._

"_Especially when he is so busy watching chick flicks," Ale whispered, only loud enough for Eliot to hear. He bit back a smile, Ale laughing._

"_Ale, we are so glad you are here!" Sophie chirped, coming down the stairs behind the couch. Ale stood, allowing Sophie to pull her into a hug once she had fully entered the room._

"_I heard it was mandatory," Ale smiled, taking in the warmth of Sophie's embrace. Although Sophie wasn't as old as her mom, Ale couldn't help but find the similarities. Sophie had a big heart, and she was wonderful at reading people, and even better at comforting them. She always knew when Ale needed a shoulder to cry on or simply a sounding board. And Sophie always, always wanted to go shopping with Ale, something her mother loved to do._

"_It is," Sophie smiled, sitting down in the arm chair. Ale took her seat next to Eliot again, their elbows brushing as she sat down._

"_Sorry," Ale mumbled, Eliot muttering an apology as well. They both laughed, elbowing each other a few more times for good measure._

Sophie was quick to pick up on the lightened mood between Eliot and Ale. She knew that Eliot had been at Ale's the past few days, but she was dying to know what actually happened in that house to make everything seem so…natural.

And she wanted to know where all of the sexual tension was coming from—not that she was complaining. Ale was good for Eliot, whether he knew it or not.

_As soon as Nate and Hardison came into the room Ale began to worry. Hardison wasn't smiling, which was rare. Usually he grabbed Ale in a huge bear hug, asking her ridiculous questions. Now he could barely look her in the eyes._

"_Hi Nate. Hey Hardison," Ale smiled, looking at the two members._

"_Hey Ale. How are the states treatin' ya?" Nate asked, sitting on the edge of Sophie's chair._

"_It's been…" Ale felt Eliot jab her slightly in the side, assuring her that it was okay to tell the truth. "Tough. But it's getting better," she smiled, not wanting to lie._

"_Good."_

_The entire room was silent, waiting for someone to say something._

"Why are we here, Nate?" Eliot grumbled, feeling how rigid and nervous Ale was sitting next to him. He just wanted to get the news and get out.

"So when you first went missing, we set up cameras at your house. We wanted to see if anyone was snooping around or if you got brought back there," Hardison said, looking at Ale.

_Ale froze in her seat, wondering if they had seen her and Eliot sharing a bed last night. Was the team mad because she was taking his time away from them?_

"_And every once and a while, I check the cameras to make sure you are doing okay," Hardison said, looking guilty. _

_Ale knew she should be mad that the team was snooping, but she really didn't care. She knew Hardison meant well, and it was reassuring to have someone watching over her._

"_I completely understand that," Ale nodded, the team looking surprised._

"_But I noticed that my signal was not the only one using the feed. I checked the viewing history, and there is someone else using the feed to watch you," Hardison said, looking at Ale. _

_While she took a minute to process what Hardison was saying, Ale looked around the room. Hardison looked ashamed, Nate looked worried, Sophie looked surprised, Parker scared, and Eliot was rigid with anger, a bit of worry behind the fire in his eyes._

_When it finally hit Ale she let out a deep breath, struggling to breathe back in._

"_So you are telling me that someone else has been watching me, and the house, since you set up the cameras?" Ale asked, her voice shaking._

Hardison couldn't look at Ale. He felt like he had let her down. He hadn't even though to put an encryption on the signal when he first set up the cameras…the people who wanted Ale already had her and they were gone when she came back. He didn't think there was a need to protect the feed. He was the only one who could have any interest in it…or so he thought.

Parker wished that everyone would just leave her friend alone. Ale had been through enough, and it was almost impossible for Parker to fix someone who everyone else kept trying to break.

Eliot was furious. He thought that Hardison was an idiot for not noticing that someone was watching Ale sooner. He also was angry that there was someone evil enough to prey on a girl whose entire family was dead and a girl who has been through hell and back. Mostly, he was worried. He wanted to know who was watching Ale, and why they were watching her. He wanted her to be safe, and unknown factors like someone spying on her were not the way to ensure her protection.

_Ale had absolutely no clue who could possibly be watching her. She was, after all, just a regular girl. She had no clue what anyone could want with her. Before she broke some rules in order to get to Buchamp, she had been invisible on the radar of anything illegal. Her rebel streak was small in the large world of people who would want to hack into a camera system in her house._

"_Ale, do you have any clue who could want information on you?" Nate asked, Ale shaking her head._

"_I have no idea. I went straight from high school to taking care of Mama, taking care of Papa, and taking down Buchamp. I had the volunteer job at the hospital, and the secretary job at Buchamp. I can't think of anything that would call for me to be watched, except for the whole Buchamp thing. That is over and done with though. You guys took him and his company down," Ale answered, Nate sighing. _

Ale's answer had been exactly what Nate was afraid of. If she would have known who was watching her, the team could have taken care of it and Ale could have gotten on with her life. Now, however, they couldn't just sweep this under the rug.

"I am sure that this sounds scary. And it is, considering we know nothing about why these people are watching you. But I have a plan, and you will be safe. I promise," Nate said, looking at Ale. She nodded, giving Nate permission to go on.

"So…here is what we are going to do," Nate started, pointing at Hardison to pull up the information on the screen.

_Then, as Nate explained how they were going to once again save Ale, Eliot grabbed her hand, letting her know she wasn't alone._


	16. Welcome Home

"You are not going to move her to a security house until you can somehow find who is watching her. She has been through enough and doesn't need to be shoved into some unknown corner of the world," Sophie argued, looking at Nate.

Nate had explained that Hardison was going to continue tracing the feed, trying to find out who was watching Ale. He had also put traces on all of Ale's information, like her credit cards, phone, and personal files to see if anyone is watching those.

Until then Ale was going to be in hiding, of sorts. She wasn't to get a job or really be on too many radars. Laying low was top priority.

"Well then what do you want me to do, Sophie?" Nate snapped back, Sophie sighing. The team was a little on edge after finding out someone was messing with Ale.

"She can stay with me!" Parker offered, the entire team disagreeing quickly.

"If she's staying with anyone it should be me," Hardison said. "I have thousands of security features."

"You've done enough," Eliot snapped.

"Eliot, he didn't do anything," Ale said softly, the entire situation making her head spin.

"If she's staying with anyone, she is staying with me. I am in charge of the team's protection and as far as I'm concerned, Ale counts as a part of the team," Eliot growled, Sophie looking extremely pleased.

"I was hoping you would say that," Nate smiled, Eliot glaring at him. He hated when Nate played tricks on him.

"Is that alright, Ale? If you stay with Eliot?" Sophie asked, looking at Ale.

"_Yeah. I couldn't be in that house anymore, anyway. It was too much. Maybe this will be good for me," Ale said, forcing a smile. "Hardison, do you think this has anything to do with the phone calls I've been getting?"_

"_What phone calls?" Nate asked, looking between Ale and Hardison._

"_I have been getting random calls from an unknown number. I never had time to answer while I was in Italy so I let it go to voicemail. They never left a message and they never answered when I called back, so eventually I stopped trying. I get the calls once, maybe twice a month. Hardison was trying to trace the number for me," Ale said. Before it hadn't really bothered her, but now she was afraid of those calls._

"Someone was calling you and you didn't think it was important to tell the team?" Eliot asked, looking at Ale. He was angry she hadn't said anything to him about it…then again, he knew that he hadn't been the most welcoming person when she first got back.

"You weren't exactly welcoming me with open arms. Plus, I thought that Hardison was the only one who could help," Ale shrugged.

"From now on, you tell us everything. Anyone who asks weird questions, anyone who calls your phone…you can't take this lightly," Nate said softly, Eliot sighing.

"Sorry," he whispered lowly, Ale nodding in acceptance.

"I understand. But won't the people who are watching the house notice that I'm, you know, not there?" Ale asked, Nate nodding.

"We are going to tape a bunch of footage of you while Hardison jams the camera signal and freezes the cameras. You will have a lot of costume changes and I'm going to stage dinner parties and it will be wonderful. My own little play. Once we have enough footage we can replay and draw out as well as loop the footage as much as we need to buy time. When we need more we will go back to the house and film more. Simple as that. The people watching you will never know you aren't there," Sophie answered, seeming so happy that she had been put in charge of something.

"Got it," Ale nodded, sighing.

"It's going to be great. We are going to get to hang out all of the time since you can't have a job," Parker squealed, Ale looking at Nate.

"I can't have a job?"

"Not one where you get checks from anywhere, no. But there are plenty of people who need help. You can volunteer like before," Hardison explained, Nate at a loss for an answer.

"And how am I supposed to make money and pay rent to Eliot?" she asked.

"You don't need to worry about that. Your safety is more important than money," Eliot said softly. "Plus, you have money saved away from Buchamp that we can use, and all of us have enough money to laust ten lifetimes. It will be fine," Eliot promised.

"Well then let's do it," Ale sighed, not knowing what else to do. They were, after all, trying to take care of her.

_Ale was exhausted, Sophie's little show she wanted Ale to put on in the house taking a lot out of her. She had to change clothes and walk around and 'act natural' and cook and Sophie was way too excited to be directing something that she went a little overboard, giving Ale character background and emotions._

_Ale indulged Sophie, knowing that it was her way of helping. While the signals were jammed and Ale was acting out her life, Hardison, Nate and Parker were packing up her bedroom. There wasn't much to take…some clothes and photos, as well as some books, were the only things she really had. She and Lio hadn't been big believers in things. They got by with what they needed. _

_Since there were no cameras in the room, no one would notice if there wasn't anything in there. _

_Once the house was packed and Sophie was satisfied with the footage the team packed up, Eliot staying behind so he could drive Ale to his apartment. _

_She said goodbye to the house, taking one last walk through Lio's room, smiling at the still open game of Monopoly on the coffee table. _

_She headed out to the truck, Eliot opening the door for her._

"_Ready to go?" Eliot asked, Ale glancing at the luggage in the bed of the truck._

"_Yup," Ale smiled, climbing into the truck._

_As Eliot drove Ale thought about her other options. They could have turned off the cameras and not know who was trying to find her, leaving her open for some danger. She could have went to a safe house. She could have lived in Italy a thousand miles away from the team that could help her and made her feel normal again._

_When Eliot pulled up to a big apartment building, Ale stopped thinking. It was easier that way._

"_Well Ale," Eliot said, pulling into his usual parking space behind the building. "Welcome home."_

_Ale looked over at Eliot, who was smiling for the first time since he had heard there was someone watching her. Looking at the smile, knowing that she was safe with Eliot, she knew that she had made the right decision._

_She knew that she was home._

**A/N: Thank you all for reading! The next story will be longer and will mostly be drabbles and various jobs as Ale gets used to living with the Leverage team 24/7, and as her relationships with the team members grow (especially hers and Eliot's).**

**The next installment of the Alessandra series is called Life Goes On and the first chapter is posted now!**

**Thank you all again for reading and reviewing…it truly means a lot! **


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